Ouvrage Vélosnes
Encyclopedia
Ouvrage Vélosnes is a gros ouvrage (large work) of the Maginot Line
, located in the Fortified Sector of Montmédy
between the towns of Othe
and Vélosnes
, facing Belgium
. It possesses four combat blocks and one entrance block. It is located to the east of petit ouvrage Thonnelle
. The position was sabotaged and abandoned by French forces that were ordered to retreat from the exposed position in June 1940 during the Battle of France
. The ouvrage is abandoned and is administered as a nature preserve.
Vélosnes is one of four positions in the so-called Tête du Pont de Montmédy, a salient in the French defensive lines along the Belgian border. The isolated area was one of the "New Fronts" to the west of the main Maginot Line, created to defend against the increased threat of a German advance through Belgium. The New Front positions suffered from restricted funding, as well as discontinuity in the fortification lines. Large distances between fortifications compared to earlier portions of the Line made mutual support between ouvrages difficult.
A number of small blockhouses are associated with Vélosnes, as well as four casemates:
None of these are connected to the ouvrage or to each other.
From September 1939 to June 1940 the 75mm turret at Vélosnes fired 10,000 rounds at German forces and positions. During the Battle of France
the garrisons of the Tête de Pont de Montmédy were ordered to withdraw the night of 10–11 June 1940 to straighten French lines, and to avoid the fate of nearby Ouvrage La Ferté
, whose entire garrison was killed when it was isolated and attacked three weeks earlier. The fortifications' arms and infrastructure were sabotaged before they were abandoned. Evacuation was complete by 12 June. The German 169th Infantry Division advanced to take possession of Vélosnes and other ouvrages in the salient on 13 June 1940.
The area saw no action during the Lorraine Campaign
of 1944. The interior of the ouvrage was stripped by the Germans, and again after the war by scrap dealers. However, a number of 75mm artillery rounds were found in Block 5 in 1994. The army removed the material and blocked access to the block. The openings for the missing turrets have been blocked with rails.
Maginot Line
The Maginot Line , named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, artillery casemates, machine gun posts, and other defences, which France constructed along its borders with Germany and Italy, in light of its experience in World War I,...
, located in the Fortified Sector of Montmédy
Fortified Sector of Montmédy
The Fortified Sector of Montmédy was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line between Sedan and Longuyon, a distance of about . The sector sector was not as strongly defended as other sections of the Maginot Line, facing the southern Ardennes region...
between the towns of Othe
Othe
Othe is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France.- Geography :The village lies on the right bank of the Othain, which flows northwestward through the commune.- See also :* Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department...
and Vélosnes
Velosnes
Velosnes is a commune in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.-Geography:The river Othain forms part of the commune's southern border; the Chiers forms all of its northern border....
, facing Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. It possesses four combat blocks and one entrance block. It is located to the east of petit ouvrage Thonnelle
Ouvrage Thonnelle
Ouvrage Thonnelle is a petit ouvrage of the Maginot Line, located in the Fortified Sector of Montmédy between the towns of Thonnelle and Verneuil-Petit, facing Belgium. It possesses four combat blocks. It is located between gros ouvrages Vélosnes and Chesnois...
. The position was sabotaged and abandoned by French forces that were ordered to retreat from the exposed position in June 1940 during the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
. The ouvrage is abandoned and is administered as a nature preserve.
Design and construction
The site was surveyed by CORF (Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifiées), the Maginot Line's design and construction agency, with plan approval in 1934. Work by the contractor Demenois-Beaumont of Verdun began in 1934 at a cost of 35.3 million francs.Vélosnes is one of four positions in the so-called Tête du Pont de Montmédy, a salient in the French defensive lines along the Belgian border. The isolated area was one of the "New Fronts" to the west of the main Maginot Line, created to defend against the increased threat of a German advance through Belgium. The New Front positions suffered from restricted funding, as well as discontinuity in the fortification lines. Large distances between fortifications compared to earlier portions of the Line made mutual support between ouvrages difficult.
Description
Vélosnes is a relatively small gros ouvrage, with its underground barracks, usine (generating plant) and ammunition magazine branching off its short main gallery just inside the entrance block. A fifth combat block was planned with a second 75mm gun turret, but was never carried out. The ouvrage occupies a hilltop site with the turret block at the summit and the entrance to the rear.- Block 1: infantry block with two automatic rifle cloches (GFM)GFM clocheThe GFM cloche was one of the most common defensive armaments on the Maginot Line. A cloche was a fixed and non-retractable firing position made of a thick iron casting which shielded its occupant...
, one mixed-arms cloche (AM)JM clocheThe JM cloche is an element of the Maginot Line. It is a non-retractable non-rotating cupola of steel alloy like GFM cloches, but are armed with twin heavy machine guns, as opposed to the lighter automatic rifles associated with the GFM. There are 179 JM cloches on the Maginot Line.JM is an acronym...
and one retractable machine gun turret. - Block 2: infantry block with one grenade launcher cloche (LG)LG clocheThe LG cloche was a defensive element common to many Maginot Line ouvrages. The fixed cupola was deeply embedded into the concrete on top of a combat block, with only the top surface visible. The opening permitted the ejection of grenades from the interior of the cloche, providing a means of...
, one AM cloche, one GFM cloche and one GFM/observation cloche. - Block 3: infantry block with one GFM cloche, one GFM/observation cloche, one AM cloche, one twin machine gun embrasure and one machine gun/47mm anti-tank gunAC 47 anti-tank gunThe AC 47 was a French anti-tank gun of 47mm caliber. It was principally used in the ouvrages and casemates of the Maginot Line in the late 1930s; another version was created for naval use....
(JM/AC47) embrasure. - Block 4 (unbuilt): artillery block with one 75mm twin retractable gun turret.
- Block 5: artillery block with one 75mm two-gun turret and a GFM cloche.
- Block 6: combined on-grade entrance with two automatic rifle cloches (GFM) and one machine gun/47mm anti-tank gunAC 47 anti-tank gunThe AC 47 was a French anti-tank gun of 47mm caliber. It was principally used in the ouvrages and casemates of the Maginot Line in the late 1930s; another version was created for naval use....
(JM/AC47) embrasure.
A number of small blockhouses are associated with Vélosnes, as well as four casemates:
- Casemate d'Ecouviez Ouest: Block with one AM cloche and one GFM-B cloche.
- Casemate d'Ecouviez Est: Single block with one JM/AC47 embrasure, one JM embrasure, one AM cloche and one GFM-B cloche.
- Casemate de la Laiterie: Artillery casemate with one 75mm gun embrasure and one GFM-B cloche.
- Casemate de Villecloye: Artillery casemate with one 75mm gun embrasure.
None of these are connected to the ouvrage or to each other.
Manning
The 1940 manning of the ouvrage under the command of Captain Sachy comprised 246 men and 6 officers of the 155th Fortress Infantry Regiment. The units were under the umbrella of the 2nd Army, Army Group 1. The Casernement de Saint-Jean-Marville provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to Vélosnes and other fortifications in the area.History
- See Fortified Sector of MontmédyFortified Sector of MontmédyThe Fortified Sector of Montmédy was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line between Sedan and Longuyon, a distance of about . The sector sector was not as strongly defended as other sections of the Maginot Line, facing the southern Ardennes region...
for a broader discussion of the events of 1940 in the Montmédy sector of the Maginot Line.
From September 1939 to June 1940 the 75mm turret at Vélosnes fired 10,000 rounds at German forces and positions. During the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
the garrisons of the Tête de Pont de Montmédy were ordered to withdraw the night of 10–11 June 1940 to straighten French lines, and to avoid the fate of nearby Ouvrage La Ferté
Ouvrage La Ferté
Ouvrage La Ferté, also known as Ouvrage Villy-La-Ferté, is a petit ouvrage of the Maginot Line, located in the Fortified Sector of Montmédy, facing Belgium. The ouvrage lies between the towns of Villy and La Ferté-sur-Chiers. It possesses two combat blocks...
, whose entire garrison was killed when it was isolated and attacked three weeks earlier. The fortifications' arms and infrastructure were sabotaged before they were abandoned. Evacuation was complete by 12 June. The German 169th Infantry Division advanced to take possession of Vélosnes and other ouvrages in the salient on 13 June 1940.
The area saw no action during the Lorraine Campaign
Lorraine Campaign
Lorraine Campaign is a term used by U.S. Army historians to describe operations of the U.S. Third Army in Lorraine during World War II from September 1 through December 18, 1944. Official U.S. Army campaign names for this period and location are Northern France and Rhineland. The term was...
of 1944. The interior of the ouvrage was stripped by the Germans, and again after the war by scrap dealers. However, a number of 75mm artillery rounds were found in Block 5 in 1994. The army removed the material and blocked access to the block. The openings for the missing turrets have been blocked with rails.
Current condition
The site is a nature preserve administered by the Lorraine region. The ouvrage itself is a habitat for bats and is not accessible to the public. Openings are grilled off to allow access for the bats. A trail with interpretive plaques winds through the surface features.See also
- List of all works on Maginot Line
- Siegfried LineSiegfried LineThe original Siegfried line was a line of defensive forts and tank defences built by Germany as a section of the Hindenburg Line 1916–1917 in northern France during World War I...
- Atlantic WallAtlantic WallThe Atlantic Wall was an extensive system of coastal fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the western coast of Europe as a defense against an anticipated Allied invasion of the mainland continent from Great Britain.-History:On March 23, 1942 Führer Directive Number 40...
- Czechoslovak border fortificationsCzechoslovak border fortificationsThe Czechoslovak government built a system of border fortifications from 1935 to 1938 as a defensive countermeasure against the rising threat of Nazi Germany that later materialized in the German offensive plan called Fall Grün...
External links
- Vélosnes at darkplaces.org